Jason Collins routinely watches Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, even Jason Kidd rack up big point totals. For him, it doesn’t happen. The entire season, he has produced two games with double figure points. But it wasn’t always that way.

“I scored 33 points in college,” Collins said proudly.

Was that in his career?

“No, that was in one game. Yes, one game,” smiled Collins, who twice went to the Finals with the Nets since leaving Stanford. “I went 4-of-5 from 3-point range, shot 13-of-14 from the floor. It was against Washington. They weren’t exactly a bad team.”

Collins long ago gave up scoring aspirations. But there is one dream he harbors, one accomplishment he would surrender all the 33-point games of a lifetime to achieve: All-Defensive team recognition. It was a position proposed by Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy earlier this month.

“I definitely agree with him,” said Collins, the master of taking the charge. “That would mean more to me than a scoring title, to be on the All-Defensive team.”

Well, with a 3.4 scoring average, he’s not getting on the All-Offensive team. Collins is the epitome of “team player.” Last night, he drew the assignment of Kevin Garnett as the Timberwolves invaded – that just five days removed from guarding Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki.

“Kevin Garnett? No problem. Dirk Nowitzki? No problem,” Collins said. “Obviously, K.G. is one of the best players in the league. His team has been up and down, but he never lets up.”

Despite all the stats and all the attention and all the acclaim, Collins would not want to trade places with Garnett.

“I accepted my role on the team. I’ve been on good teams all my life. For any team to be successful, guys must accept their roles,” Collins said. “K.G. is putting up some nice numbers, but I would definitely take the winning team over a mediocre team record.”

That’s why the coaching staff loves Collins. Anything he puts in the basket is gravy. Even his rebounds (4.6) look sickly compared to other power forwards. But Collins makes the block-out that allows teammates to get the rebound. He draws charges. He plays hurt. He never complains.

“He does an unbelievable job in terms of his preparation and execution of a game plan,” said Nets coach Lawrence Frank. “He does a great job both on and of the ball. He understands angles, positioning, doing his work early. In our mind, he’s one of the better post defenders in the league. We’ve always felt that way.

“He’s totally selfless. Everyone in our locker room respects him because he puts it out there. Everyone understands his value and what he brings. He’s a leader. The guy plays through pain like no other. He’s a great teammate. There’s a reason when you track his record that he wins. He’s a total winner.”

And he should be All- Defense, despite the opinion of the Meadowlands boobirds.

“He’s definitely appreciated by us. Maybe not by the average fan who watches on TV and says, ‘What does he do?’ ” said Carter. “What he brings to the table – the two charges he took against Kobe; his defensive effort; he guards the best post man. He’s just a solid, smart player. He’s definitely worthy of All-Defense. The NBA should consider Jason as a candidate because he’s the best.

“I know about the Bruce Bowens and Ron Artests, they see the best 1s, 2s and 3s, but he gets the most offensive big men in the league who are pretty dominant, from K.G. to Shaq to Elton Brand on down, and he’s done a great job.”